I think he was making a good point: That there is a role for a middleman to add value by providing services (or access to services) that an author may not already have on his own.
That we refer to this middleman as a 'publisher' (which already has meaning in the soon-to-be-outdated book publishing model) is, I think, what you take exception to.
And if these middle do actually provide value, they will continue to be included in the process. If these organizations (currently known as publishers) are capable of providing capable editors and providing other value to the finished work, I'm sure they'll be able to charge a fee and stay in business.
Job boards have not replaced the headhunter. If anything, people complain about the job boards being a miasma of trash resume. Likewise, those authors who seek such expert consulting might end up positively differentiating themselves.
In the long run though, the business has been disrupted and it is up to the publishers to positions themselves in a way that their expertise and value is appreciated and accessible to authors who might not want to go through them in the traditional means. So perhaps they would do well to charge for the services which still add value (like editorial work or cover art services).
That we refer to this middleman as a 'publisher' (which already has meaning in the soon-to-be-outdated book publishing model) is, I think, what you take exception to.